The present invention relates to a beer, particularly low-alcohol or alcohol-free beer, and to a method of producing such beer.
A plurality of methods of manufacturing low-alcohol or alcohol-free beers have been known in the art, in which from beer, produced by conventional brewing process and having a normal alcohol content, a portion of alcohol is withdrawn. In the method disclosed in DE-OS 1,442,238 alcohol is evaporated from beer in a thin layer-evaporator at the temperatures below 70.degree. C.
In the similar method disclosed in DE-AS 1,266,266 beer is firstly subjected to an atomization evaporation in vacuum and then the residuals are reblended and impregnated with carbonic acids.
Methods for an adsorptive alcohol removal are disclosed, for example in DE-OS 2,405,543. A method of producing of alcohol-free beer by a reverse osmosis is disclosed in DE-OS 2,323,094.
Furthermore, methods of manufacturing of alcohol-free beer by breaking a fermentation or boiling of beer in brewing pans have been also proposed. Finally, there has been also a possibility to remove alcohol from beer by high-pressure extraction with fluid CO.sub.2.
All known methods for the alcohol removal from beer have the disadvantage that, besides the reduction of the alcohol content which is important for the bodied beer, other beer ingredients which affect a total sensitive impression of beer and therefore the quality of low-alcohol or alcohol-free beer were removed. It has been also found that the reverse osmosis and high-pressure extraction methods have required an expensive and troublesome equipment and have involved a number of technical difficulties which have not been overcome in practice.
Also full beers, diet beers, strong beers and beers of low original wort content with an alcohol content between about 1.5 and 6.0 weight percent depending on the raw materials and fermentation conditions used can be improved in their bodyness and other taste qualities.